James Gunn Explains Why Lex Luthor Doesn't Know 'Superman's Real Identity

James Gunn’s Superman movie officially kicked off the new DC Universe when it came out last year, and fans are still picking over the details. For instance, one fan on Threads, karolskid, is convinced that Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) must know that Superman is actually mild-mannered Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent (David Corenswet) in disguise. “Lex is too smart not to figure it out, and too smart to leak the information for no reason,” they write. “He’s keeping Clark’s secret until a time when it’s beneficial for him to use it.”

Another Threads user, tyfahlman, called upon writer-director James Gunn himself to “please settle this.” And Gunn, who is known to weigh in on things like this on social media, did not disappoint. He wrote:

Lex doesn’t know who he is but I don’t know how he would. A) Lex thinks Superman is a disconnected alien who wants to take over the world, so I’m not sure why he’d assume he has a “secret identity.” B) Hypno Glasses are real. Clark looks like another person. C) Being a genius in some ways (in Lex’s case, genetics, electrochemistry, nanotechnology, nuclear & quantum physics, to name a few) doesn’t mean you are a genius in all fields. Like many scientists (& artists!) he can miss basic things.

It makes sense that Lex Luthor, who has no reason to suspect that Superman even has a secret identity, wouldn’t be quick to figure out what it is. He can’t answer a question he hasn’t asked. As for “Hypno Glasses,” those are special glasses made with advanced technology that actively trick people into forgetting that Clark Kent and Superman look a lot alike whenever Clark wears them. They’re a somewhat goofy bit of DC Comics lore that aren’t always used in Superman stories, but Gunn has embraced them.

Finally, Gunn is right that just because Lex Luthor is a genius in some areas doesn’t mean he’s good at everything. There’s actually a word for this phenomenon: it’s a variation on the Dunning-Kruger effect, where people with competence in one area assume they have general competence in other areas, even though that’s not really the way human intelligence works.

Nicholas Hoult and David Corenswet in Superman standing in Lex Luthor's office

So Gunn has pretty effectively plugged this plot hole, if that’s what it was. But that doesn’t mean that Lex will never find out about Superman’s secret identity. Gunn’s next Superman film, Man of Tomorrow, is in production right now, and will see Superman and Lex Luthor team up to take on a new villain: the hyper-intelligent alien android Brainiac (Lars Eidinger). Maybe Lex will put things together as he spends more time with the Man of Steel.

Man of Tomorrow is scheduled to hit theaters on Jul. 9, 2027. In the meantime, the next movie in the DC Universe scheduled for release is Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which is due out on Jun. 26, 2026. Be on the lookout for Superman to make an appearance in that one.

And there are other Superman-adjacent projects in the works, like a series starring Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo). Gunn weighed in on that show in the same thread, responding to someone who wondered whether the show was going to be animated. “It’s not,” Gunn confirmed.